Marcia Wallace

Some might have easily doled out the phrase "laughing on the outside, crying on the inside" to describe funny lady Marcia Wallace. She had many uphill battles in both life and career, over the past three-and-a-half decades, but the carrot-cropped comedienne with the ever-toothy smile remained optimistic to this end. Born on November 1, 1942, the eldest of three born to an Iowa general storeowner, Marcia endured a troubled childhood (alcoholism, physical abuse). Performing in high school plays as a teenager, she studied at Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, where she majored in English and theatre. Marcia initially induced laughs because of a weight problem, playing plump, self-deprecating characters in such musicals as "The Music Man". She also supplemented her very modest income at the time, substitute teaching in the Bronx. Managing to drop much of her excess weight over time, she found, to her delight, that she could still make people laugh. Finding an invaluable training ground